Fuel leaks are known to occur in aircraft fuel distribution systems and holding tanks. Fuel leaks can reduce fuel economy and cause other problems, such as corrosion.
Corrosion can also occur from a build-up of moisture. On commercial aircraft, moisture build-up is common under galleys and lavatories, and near doorways and other openings. Moisture can also be trapped in honeycomb panels, and other “sandwich” structures having light weight and low strength.
Moisture and resulting corrosion on commercial aircraft is often remote, and visual inspection for corrosion involves costly removal of galleys, lavatories, panels and floorboards. Such inspection results in significant down time during aircraft delivery and dispatch delays in the customer fleets after delivery.
Moreover, visual inspection of moisture and corrosion can take many man-hours. The inspection is also very costly, especially when an aircraft is inspected but no moisture or corrosion is found. Time and money will have been wasted.
Continuous detection of fuel leaks and moisture build-up aboard an aircraft can identify potential problems. Continuous detection of fuel leaks and moisture build-up can also reduce manual labor and wasted time. Therefore, continuous fuel leak and moisture detection aboard an aircraft is highly desirable.